The Fox and the Bear (2)
When I reached the wall, the barbarian cavalry attacked in a way I never could have imagined. I'd braced for a direct assault on the fortifications, but that assumption missed the mark entirely.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The barbarians galloped in furiously, then hurled the sacks they'd been carrying just before the wall. The moment I saw it, instinct told me exactly what they were planning.
Snow. They're piling snow sacks to create ramps over the wall.
I barked orders the instant the realization hit.
"Drive stakes into the spots where they're throwing those sacks! Don't let the barbarian cavalry scale the wall so easily. Hurry!"
Even as I issued the command, a chill ran down my spine. They'd seen our wall and improvised this on the fly. I had to admit I'd underestimated them.
"Stakes in! Don't let the barbarians stand beside you!"
The centurions bellowed.
Soldiers hurriedly smashed carts and spear shafts, jamming them into the wall base. The barbarians spotted it and started tossing sacks elsewhere.
"Rikius!"
"Yes, sir."
"Command the archers. Don't let the barbarians approach at will."
"We'll burn through arrows fast."
"Doesn't matter. Just buy time."
I sent Rikius off and grabbed a stone sledgehammer myself.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
With the top-ranking officer hammering stakes personally, the soldiers picked up the pace. The barbarians responded by sending in a new unit—not sacks this time, but mounted archers with bows drawn.
Whish! Whish!
Our archers loosed first.
"Heeyah!"
The barbarian riders screamed and split left and right. Their reaction to our arrow volley was lightning-quick.
As our soldiers nocked fresh arrows, the barbarians closed the gap and fired.
Whish! Whoosh!
Arrows rained on the wall; stake-drivers leaped down. I roared at the sight.
"Shields up! Wasting even a breath means the barbarians will be in your faces! Don't fear their arrows!"
"Sir! Let me take this spot."
A Praetorian officer stepped up.
I refused and held my ground.
"The men are facing superior numbers right now. If I hadn't come, fine—but leaving now would crush morale. They draw courage from my back; they panic if I retreat. I appreciate the offer, but I'm staying."
Thwack. Thud.
An arrow timely embedded in the officer's shield right in front of me.
"But if you get hurt..."
"A few arrows? What's that to me? I'm an imperial soldier."
I slammed the hammer down with all my strength.
The officer bit his lip and saluted across his chest.
The barbarians wheeled along the wall, loosing arrows. One unit shot past; the next hurled snow sacks.
They aimed to neutralize our wall this way and vault it en masse.
The barbarians' tactics have their brilliant moments.
I'd thought them mere hit-and-runners, never imagining this cunning.
It had to be the new king Aldemark's handiwork.
But.
My Praetorian legion is the empire's strongest.
I trusted the force I'd forged. As long as my soldiers held beside me, victory over barbarians was certain.
Stakes driven, I gripped my sledgehammer and glared at the enemy, muttering inwardly.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The barbarian cavalry hounded us relentlessly for nearly two hours, probing with arrows to pin us while flinging snow sacks.
The men drove stakes diligently, but the knee-high snow piles at the wall's base were unstoppable. Without their horse charges, they could assault anytime.
Planning another pinning maneuver?
I swallowed dryly at the piled snow.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The cavalry closed a hundred meters in a flash. They seemed set to react like before to our arrows—evade, then shoot?
No.
I realized they'd improvised again.
They discarded bows and drew swords. This was a full charge right to the wall for a breakthrough.
"Legion to positions!"
I drew my sword and yelled.
"Legion to positions!"
Centurions echoed urgently. As our soldiers locked shields in formation, the barbarians' vanguard hit the wall.
"Charge now!"
The barbarian commander blew his horn; they dismounted.
Using their snow sacks, they leaped up. Stakes deterred cavalry, not infantry—they meant little here.
Clang! Clash!
Barbarian blades hammered our shields atop the snow. The deafening metal clash stung my ears.
I sighed in relief as our men yielded just a step, absorbing the shock.
Climbing from below saps their momentum.
But numbers favored them utterly.
Sword aimed at the foe, I bellowed.
"We are the legion! Show them the blood and sweat we've shed in training and battle! Drive them from our wall!"
"Raaah!"
Soldiers roared, throwing their weight into shields. Our push sent the barbarians stumbling back a step.
The bold vanguard, surging up the wall, lost footing on the height difference and tumbled.
As they fell, our men crouched and twisted shields.
"Thrust!"
At the officers' command, swords pierced barbarian throats.
"Kyaak!"
As they screamed, Rikius's archers struck their rear.
The sudden arrow storm panicked riderless horses into frenzy. As chaos gripped them, our soldiers howled to charge.
"Drums! Don't leave the wall!"
I ordered the drummer to hold position.
Drums rolled; men swinging from the snow hesitated.
Our brief taste of victory was fleeting. Chasing a few kills off the wall? One slip, and cavalry hooves would crush us. We'd lose.
I needed to stay calm.
The barbarians hastily withdrew.
At least three times our numbers.
From the wall, I scanned their lines. Unshaken despite blood spilled—pursuing would've been suicide.
That assault was bait to lure us into overconfidence.
But it failed.
Sword in hand, a barbarian horn blared from their camp. A fresh unit charged with snow sacks. I scowled.
Can't lure us? Then wear us down.
They weren't fools.
Our soldiers tensed atop the wall in biting wind—stamina would drain fast. They'd harass until exhaustion, then strike as one.
They know how to minimize losses. This'll be tough.
Grinding my teeth, I ordered an officer.
"Slaughter more horses."
"B-but the rest are officers' mounts."
"Doesn't matter. No horses, we die. Kill my steed too."
Officers recoiled in horror.
A warhorse was dearer than a blade—a comrade, lover even. Ordering their slaughter stunned them.
"Sir, take ours instead. Not the commander's..."
"My horse matters, but yours don't? Everyone cherishes their mount. I can't order others' killed while sparing mine. Slaughter it."
"Yes, sir."
I issued the cold command like severing a thread, but fury burned at needing to sacrifice my own.
Soon, soldiers butchered horses in camp—sledgehammer to skull, spear to finish painlessly.
Yet many lingered, collapsing in pitiful whinnies that wrenched my heart.
Slaughter done, soldiers collected hot blood in bowls, passing it to wall comrades. Some chewed raw flesh. Thus, we fueled on "comrades'" blood and meat against barbarian guile.
To their cunning, I countered with ruthlessness. Without it, a charge might've shattered us.
Barbarians kept probing, tossing sacks and arrows, awaiting our slip.
Aldemark.
I wiped sweat from my brow.
Gazing anxiously at their lines, a horn sounded from their camp—familiar.
Retreat signal.
Instinct said our allies had arrived as planned.
This timing? Certain.
Lost in thought, Rikius galloped up.
"Sir, that horn—retreat signal?"
"Yes."
"Then we attack."
I shook my head.
"No."
Pointing to our rear tents, I explained.
Rikius bit his lip.
"Then at least one battalion."
"I understand, but no. The horn's real, but if it's bait? Turn your men into arrow fodder?"
He bowed his head.
"Shortsighted of me."
"Your courage is admirable. Without His Majesty, I might've agreed. But we're escorting the emperor. Never forget our duty. We're the Guard."
"Yes, sir."
"Let other legions rout them. They're trapped rats."
I gripped his shoulder firmly.
Barbarians withdrew in orderly ranks, as in attack—proof of drilled warriors.
Watching them recede, I raised my sword high.
"The barbarians retreat! The eagles have won today!"
"Long live the emperor! Glory to the empire's golden eagles!"
Soldiers banged shields, roaring.
"I'm proud of you. His Majesty will remember your valor today."
"Ain! Ain! Ain!"
Basking in cheers, I descended the wall. The emperor, hearing victory cries, emerged from his tent.
Kneeling before him:
"Your Majesty. We have victory."
"I saw. Now I see why they call you the empire's wall."
"Overpraise, sire."
"With barbarians gone, the battle's over?"
I smiled at his question.
"No, Your Majesty. The battle has only just begun."
Imagining barbarians screaming in death under my hand, I replied confidently.
(To be continued)